American Century Investments

Rating Overview

American Century Investments is Medium Risk.

American Century Investments is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

American Century Investments received a score of 60 on the 2026 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2)(3). The company received a score of 40 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (4)(5). American Century Investments is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis, decision-making, and other business practices (6)(7)(8). The company integrates ESG into its business practices. From its Approach to Sustainable Investing: “We believe that incorporating sustainability factors using ESG data into our investment processes may lead to more informed decision making for our portfolios” (9). However, American Century Investments has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (10).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

American Century Investments does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

American Century Investments’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). The company requires its employees to take inclusion training (3). American Century Investments has a history of divisive corporate policies and practices. However, in 2024, the company removed inclusion training from its Sustainability Report. To date, the company has not publicly addressed this change, leaving shareholders without clarity regarding the company’s reasoning or future direction (4). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (5).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

American Century Investments’ CEO, Jonathan Thomas, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace, strategize on DEI programs/initiatives with other signatories, and engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating DEI strategies (1)(2). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its Approach to Sustainable Investing: “Our sustainable investing approach applies to investment strategies that incorporate sustainability factors using ESG data
into the investment process through fundamental research, quantitative data analyses, engagement activities, and/or proxy voting” (3). American Century Investments supports DEI within its business practices. From its Press Release Web Page: “At American Century, we approach diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) as a journey to learn, unlearn and relearn. I’m very pleased to announce Deidre and Diane’s appointments, which will maintain and enhance our corporate culture by continuing to embed our DE&I agenda in our progressive talent processes and bringing focus to our employee experience” (4). The company was a member of LGBT Great, an organization that provides companies with advice on how to be more inclusive to the LGBTQ community (5)(6). LGBT Great recognized American Century Investments’ Chief Investment Officer Rich Weiss as one of its Top 50 Executive Allies (7). LGBT Great also announced Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Thomas and Victor Zhang as two of the Global Top 100 Executive Allies for 2021 (8). American Century Investments scored a 55 out of 100 on the 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group (9)(10).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

American Century Investments’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides a benefits package for employees which includes some transgender medical benefits for covered employees and dependents, including children. This may include paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). The company is a Corporate Member of the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce (3)(4). The company was a Corporate Partner of LGBT Great and the Diversity Project (5). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of American Century using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (6).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

American Century Investments PAC has been defunct since 2008, and does report on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).